Well , my first cruise ship experience is over and I can say with conviction that I'll not do another. There was plenty to do aboard ship besides spending money. I actually got away with zero balance on my shipboard account by eating at all the complimentary buffets and attending the free shows.

About a month ago I wrote a diary in Caucus99percent which discussed an important argument offered by David Rovics.

Tourists visiting Machu Picchu had to be evacuated by helicopter because protesters had used rocks to block trains that run to Cusco since Tuesday.

Light and Dark

This Wednesday is the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year. The sun has made it's march south, and now pauses before it climbs back up in the sky. Days will grow longer in the endless cycle of light and dark. Tonight is the start of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights that lasts for eight days and nights in honor of a 2,000-year-old miracle in which light won out over darkness.

... that they might be pulling back from the warfare state:

Afternoon folks!

Another week, another batch of albums for you guys. There's a compilation of Nappy Brown's earlier days doing r&b tunes, piano player Mose Allison has a live album and another piano player, Marcia Ball follows with a studio album. We've got a late 60's Butterfield Blues Band album and a Ten Years After album from later in their career - kind of a departure from their earlier albums. There's two albums by Richard Thompson and an album by prog-rockers Be Bop Deluxe (which the gods of copyright seem to have chosen to block a goodly chunk of).

Enjoy!